Tax the rich to balance the budget?

That's the majority of the plan put forth today by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton. While taxes are never popular -- and judging by the comments following the original article you'd think that each and every bickering and illiterate jackal commenting was in that new top income tax bracket -- they seem to be one of only a handful of ways out of the state's $6.2 billion deficit.

Any plan which Dayton proposes will be unpopular. He was left this mess thanks to Tim Pawlenty who opposed raising taxes in any way and by doing so created this huge deficit. But he remained popular because everyone hates taxes. I hate taxes, my neighbors hate taxes and my co-workers hate taxes but they are an inevitable part of living in the society we have built for ourselves.

But Mark Dayton's budget proposal only raises income taxes on the wealthiest 5% of Minnesotans. If $150,000 is the cutoff for the wealthiest 5%, we obviously live in a rather middle-class state. But the majority of the remaining 95% below that magical $150,000 income threshhold are scared. Their thinking is probably along the lines of "well, if Dayton raises the taxes on them, he'll get us next". But that would be political suicide for a man who won the election by a less than 10,000 vote margin.

"But it's redistribution of wealth!"

To those 5% whose taxes are poised to increase (a mere $1,000-$2,000 per person per some reports) and those who didn't vote for Dayton that's how they see it. To me it's a few who can afford to pay their share who will now pay their share. Oh sure, call me a communist but if you have an income of $150,000 and can't afford to pay an additional $2,000 per year, you are obviously living far beyond your means. For all the yelling about people living beyond their means causing the huge collapse of nearly everything in the past three or four years, they need to take a look in the mirrors and realize that those who help their neighbors will be rewarded in the end.

And best of all, Dayton is calling the tax hikes temporary. If it balances the budget in the end, then it's a job well done.

Jails vs. Schools: which one benefits society?

Back in my old hometown of Austin, MN the school levy referendum failed. It would have raised taxes $84/yr on a $100,000 home. To many, any additional money paid in taxes is too much but this is the same city that approved the construction of a $30,000,000 jail/justice center shared by the city and county. In contrast, the school levy referendum would have provided the school district with just over $1,000,000/yr. in additional operating funds.

Which of the two - schools or a jail - benefits society more in the long run? Schools prepare the next generation for jobs. Those buildings need to be stocked with equipment and teachers who are at the top of their game - they need to be of the highest quality and the best of the best. Schools serve the children of everyone and everyone who has ever reached the age of five has benefitted from schools - the majority benefitting from public schools which are taxpayer funded.

Then there are jails. They are filled with people who didn't see the value or need to abide by our city, state or nation's laws. They are arrested, booked and placed in jail. Some go to trial while many serve their time and consider it their debt to society for doing wrong. In either case, they stay in these buildings on the taxpayer's dime. I see no reason why a jail needs to provide anything beyond the most basic of necessities. The simple fact that jails have televisions anywhere inside them is nothing short of excessive to me. I don't care if the televisions are for employees, visitors, stray cats or those who are locked up - a television is a luxury and is unnecessary if you are being punished for a crime. And housing law breakers in a $30,000,000 building is so far beyond excessive that I can't even think of words for it.

Why do we feel the need to spend $30,000,000 on a building to house criminals when there are millions and millions of square feet of warehouse and commercial space sitting vacant? Is our government so spend happy that even those who many see as the bottom rung of society need a special building to live in at the expense of others? How many cities and counties require their inmates to actually work doing something while they serve their time? I know for certain that in Scott County (Minnesota) the inmates spend every waking hour indoors at the jail. To some the simple fact that they are not allowed outdoors adds to the punishment but I feel that working to pay your debt to society builds more character and could actually lead to a better place for them down the road than sitting around for days on end doing little to nothing.

Yes, inmates, prisoners, criminals - whatever you choose to call them - sit in relative luxury doing nothing while our schools who are asking for far, far less in the way of operating funds have to do without. They do without modern computers and they do without the best teachers because the best teachers realize that they can make more money in private schools.

So, which one - jails or schools - would you rather have your tax dollars spent on?

After you ponder that question, check out the equally compelling MinnPics and take a photographic journey through Minnesota.

Crazy octuplet mom to sell story for $2 million

One thng both sticking in my craw (ouch) and dominating the news as of late is that crazy bitch in California who gave birth to octuplets. It seemed like a touching story. At first. Then came the information about her already having six kids. Six plus eights equals fourteen; if you're counting.

Then the fact that this woman (Nadya Suleman) wanted to keep her identity secret. It seemed suspicious. But wait a couple days and some dumbass magazine is willing pony up $2 million for the exclusive rights to her story.

Well, I'll save you the hassle of dropping $3.50 for a copy of People and spoil the story. This divorced mother of six now living with her parents because of bankruptcy is also characterized as mentally unstable. Even her mother characterized her as "obsessed with children".

The real problem here is that modern medicine allower her to receive fertility treatments even though she had no present fertility problems. Did those treatments include a sperm donor or did this crazy woman find some random guy to sex her up old school style too in an effort to complete her bizarre plan?

I, for one, can't wait to support her little army of kids via my tax dollars because she is "obsessed with children". Someone needs to physically remove her uterus before she spawns any more kids to further satisfy her obsession.

On a kinder and more sane note, MinnPics is home to great photography and devoid of any obsessions, except bacon.

I hope nobody reading this is an actual mouth breather

The latest round of political shenanigans (I'll refer to it as bullplop from here on) centers around a couple of presidential candidates (I'll call them Hillary Clinton and John McCain) pandering for votes on the basis of a gas tax holiday that will never see the light of day. Of course there are plenty of mouth breathers around who hear the phrase "gas tax holiday" and jump for joy only to tear the crotch of their 1991-vintage Zubaz. Those same mouth breathers think that the amount of gas taxes that would be rolled back for the summer months would equate to financial freedom forever. These people, too, are what I refer to as "stupid". The average amount saved (see story & chart here) by a Minnesotan if this fantasy were to happen is a mere $55! Take note and don't let a hypothetical, vote-pandering $55 "gift" sway your vote.

And in more mind-numbing economic babble, now that the "gift from God" checks are arriving from big brother (A.K.A. borrowing from our future or China) people are writing and asking readers what their plans are for this money from above. The most interesting I stumbled upon was this guy's well thought out approach to not spend the money at all.

The IRS has a schedule posted as to when the masses will get their checks and amazingly, if you have love for direct deposit, you'll be lining your pockets within the month of May.

My thoughts on spending the money are to not spend it on purchases but to save it or invest it. One can never know what the future brings but those who save are at least prepared. Others suggest purchasing Halliburton stock and a pair of Bumper Nutz. And lastly, don't buy in to these myths about the gift from above.

As for me, I'd love to blow this money on a robotic lawnmower just so I can drink a frosty Pabst Blue Ribbon while my mowerbot cuts the grass. Feel free to fantasize, what kind of crazy crap would you do with the BushGift if reality was taking a holiday?

$1,200 will do little for Minnesotans

"It's too little too late," said William Schroyer, a tree trimmer for the city of Minneapolis. "The ideas that consumers can spend our way out of this is ridiculous." via

At least I'm not alone here. The simple fact that the president thinks that further indebting our country will dig the country out of this fear-induced recession is utter garbage. The fact that he is unwilling to work with his democrat counterparts to add other stimulus items to this borrowing from China is nothing short of stubborn pig-headedness.

Uncontrolled and blind spending is the very reason our country may be (is) facing a recession and, unlike previous recessions, this one is getting tons of media coverage because even with media being weaker as a whole than previous times, the blogger community has the power in sheer numbers alone to hype any situation.

I will not look a gift horse in the mouth because the thought that the man is going to fork over $1,200 to our household is fabulous but it isn't going to allow me to run out to Burnsville Center and snap up a thousand bucks in clothes. I, like so many others, have actual bills that are a struggle to pay each month. The biggest ones, like most others, are credit cards and medical costs. With our nation's medical care and medical insurance systems chronically broken, those are the items that need immediate attention. Among other things, the rollercoaster ride in Twin Cities housing prices and skyrocketing property taxes in Minnesota that do nothing to fund a failing transportation infrastructure.

A fist full of cash is nice but think ahead -- it just adds to our nation's $6 trillion-plus in debt and it's nothing more than a bandage on a severed limb.